NGI Weekly Gas Price Index

With temperatures across the eastern half of the country plunging to levels more typical of the winter season and more cold on the way, weekly gas prices skyrocketed as imports from Canada remained strained after an Oct. 9 pipeline explosion in British Columbia. Sharp increases from the Permian Basin to the Rockies led the way, and the NGI Weekly National Avg. rose 17.5 cents to $3.18.

There was no shortage of news this week to drive weekly prices significantly higher, with the most impressive gains seen in recently struggling West Texas/southeastern New Mexico, as well as in Appalachia and the Rockies. When all was said and done, NGI’s National Weekly Spot Gas Avg. rose 20.5 cents from Oct. 8-12 to $3.005.

Persistent warmth, natural gas pipeline maintenance events and an unusually high level of nuclear generation outages lifted gas prices across most of the country from Oct. 1-5, with some pricing locations posting gains of more than $1 on some days. Milder weather that moved in later in the week, however, trimmed overall gains. TheNGI Weekly National Avg. rose 14 cents to $2.80.

As storage concerns came to the forefront in the natural gas futures market during the week ended Sept. 28, shoulder season temperatures produced a mix of changes in the spot market; the NGI Weekly National Spot Gas Average fell a penny to $2.66/MMBtu.

Strong shoulder season prices in the Southeast and collapsing basis differentials in West Texas headlined the physical natural gas market during the week ended Sept. 21; the NGI Weekly National Spot Gas Average picked up 7 cents to $2.67/MMBtu.

Even with some lingering hot weather, natural gas spot prices generally moved lower for the week ended Sept. 14 as markets watched for impacts from the latest round of tropical weather. TheNGIWeekly National Spot Gas Average fell 11 cents to $2.60/MMBtu.

Improving West Texas basis differentials helped offset declining East Coast premiums as natural gas spot prices were decidedly mixed for the week ended Sept. 7; the NGI Weekly National Spot Gas Average fell a nickel to $2.71/MMBtu.

A reprieve from the unrelenting heat that drove strong natural gas demand for most of the summer pushed weekly gas prices lower across most of the country from Aug. 27-30, with some of the most substantial losses seen in the West, from the Rockies, Arizona, Nevada and California. There were exceptions, however, as hot high pressure on the East Coast sent temperatures close to 100 degrees in some locales, lifting weekly prices by double digits. Overall, the NGI Weekly National Avg. for September gas for the week through Thursday fell 3 cents to $2.76.

Natural gas prices for the Aug. 21-27 period moved lower as much of the United States enjoyed mild temperatures ahead of a warm-up expected later this weekend. Most regions saw prices decline less than a dime, although steeper losses were seen in the Rocky Mountains and along the West Coast, which is finally seeing signs of cooler weather ahead. The NGINational Weekly Gas Avg.dropped 12 cents to $2.79.